//------------------------------// // The Rekindling, Part II // Story: The Bell of Bridlewood // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// It was only a couple of minutes before Sunny and Izzy decided that the air had not been sufficiently cleared between them and their new visitor, and so quickly trotted out after him into the Maretime Bay evening, hoping they weren't going to lose him to his head start. Luckily, they hadn't even made it into downtown proper before Izzy pointed down at the beach, where the staunch grey unicorn stallion was sitting just beyond the tide, watching the sunset and the waves. "Alphabittle!" Sunny called as she and Izzy galloped down into the sand towards his silhouette. "Look, don't be angry! I know this sounds risky, but—" "Sunny, Izzy, stop!" A third voice yelled from behind them. They turned, and saw Misty coming down the hill. "He should hear it from me," Misty definitively told her new friends. They exchanged glances, and nodded at her, heading back up to the coastal road, but stayed to keep her in sight as she slowly sauntered over to Alphabittle, and sat next to him as the evening tide continued to slosh against the sand. He glanced down at her, but stayed silent. "I'm trying to remember you," Misty started. "I really, truly am. You obviously care about me a great deal, and I want you to know that that means a lot to me right now." Alphabittle softly nodded, but otherwise didn't reply. "Are you going to try and stop me? Talk me out of it?" She asked nervously. Alphabittle took a quiet breath, looking over at his long lost daughter again. "Barely twenty minutes... That's how long I was gone. That's how long it took for this 'Opaline' to take you away from me. I don't know if she physically snatched you, or somehow lured you out of the house... I don't expect you to remember. The point is, I've never forgiven myself for that. I had already sent the foalsitter home, I saw the storm clouds, and I didn't want to risk you getting wet and sick if I took you along to get groceries. One lapse of judgement... That's all it took." Misty didn't know how to reply to the stallion's confession, so she just sat there silently, sensing he wasn't done. "Stop you? No. You're a grown mare, Misty, and you can make your own choices. But talk you out of it? I'd certainly like to try. If I lost you again, Misty... I don't know if I'd be able to deal with that." "It's... It's not set in stone. Opaline doesn't really expect me to keep 'spying' on these ponies because she assumes they know I'm still working for her. You're right... It won't be an easy guise to maintain. But she's a very real threat... The sort of danger that Equestria hasn't seen in generations, and I just feel that if I can keep an eye on her to help my new friends figure out how to defeat her... Part of me feels I should do that," Misty told him. "I just don't want you to forget to live your life, Misty. That's something I forgot to do when you disappeared, until Izzy came into my life. I mean it; anytime you want to come see Bridlewood, you're welcome. I'd love to see you back home. You have to do what you think is best, and I get that. But if Opaline is as dangerous as you all say she is... I don't want to see you get hurt, or lose what you've just gained," Alphabittle told her, motioning down at her new cutie mark. Misty looked back at her flank, smiling at the mark she had longed for for years. Alphabittle stood up, and faced her. "I think I'm gonna start heading back home. I don't think I'm going to sleep very well tonight. But I've done what I came here to do. I mean it, Misty. If you need anything, any time, come to Bridlewood, or just call me. I'm really starting to get a hang of this smartphone." Misty nodded. "You don't need to dig it out right now, I'll get your number from Izzy," Misty said. "And thanks. Knowing that there's somepony out there that cares about me, that means a lot. Like, a lot a lot," Misty replied. Alphabittle stepped forward and pulled the young mare into a hug. "I love you, Misty. Never forget that," he said, his voice wavering. Misty returned the hug, not even able to get her front legs around the front half of his barrel. "I love you too... Dad..." She felt the hug tighten slightly after she said that, and he took another shuddering breath, before breaking from the embrace. "Alright, alright. I'm not gonna get all mushy on you, don't worry. Stay safe, and I can't wait to see you again, kiddo." With that, he turned and walked slowly up the hill, nodding at Sunny and Izzy, who had been standing and watching from a distance. "Thank you. For showing her friendship. For being there for her," he told both of them, before continuing north down the coastal road. Queen Haven was awakened by a knock on her chamber door. Lifting the sleep mask from her eyes, she glanced over at the night stand and saw that it was two in the morning. The knocking persisted, and she tossed the bed covers aside and swung her legs out of bed, getting to her hooves as she put on her night robe. "By the stars, something better be on fire..." She muttered as she went to the door. She slowly pulled it open, and saw Captain Zephyrwing, standing with Alphabittle, who had looked like he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. "Captain...? Alphie...?" She asked, wincing at the light out in the corridor. "A thousand apologies for waking you, Your Majesty, but your instructions were to admit Alphabittle here any time he showed up, and he has specifically asked for you immediately," Zoom told her. "Is everything okay, Alphie?" Haven asked. Alphabittle cleared his throat. "I'm sorry if this seems sudden, Haven. I... I was headed home, after meeting Misty. I was about halfway there when I realized that I didn't want to be alone tonight," he told her softly, so his voice wouldn't carry down the hall. "Thank you, Captain, that will be all. Come on in, darling," Haven told him, opening the door the rest of the way as Zoom marched down the hall the way she had come. Alphabittle walked into Haven's bedroom, and she closed the door, returning the room to its previously barely-lit ambience. "Having my dearest call on me in the middle of the night wasn't exactly how I was imagining sharing my bed for the first time in two decades, but I'll certainly take what I can get. Come to bed, and you can tell me all about your reunion in the morning," Haven told him, walking back over to her bedside, and sat down. By the time the unicorn had gone to the other side of the bed, she had pulled the covers far enough back so that he didn't have to do it himself. He gently climbed into bed, laid back, and helped Haven pull the sheets back over the two of them. The pair snuggled in together, and welcomed whatever dreams that were in store for them.